State Museum, Lucknow

The State Museum, Lucknow—established in 1863—is Uttar Pradesh’s oldest and most comprehensive cultural institution. Originally housed in historic landmarks like Choti Chattar Palace and Red Pavilion, the museum expanded substantially to occupy a dedicated four‑storey building inside the zoo in 1963, inaugurated by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Visitors can explore a wide sweep of India’s past through richly themed galleries. The archaeological collections span from prehistoric tools and Bronze Age relics to terracotta and sculptures from Mauryan, Kushana, Gupta, and Pala periods. Noteworthy galleries include the Jain art gallery, Buddhist art, Indian sculpture, and the Egyptian gallery—home to a rare mummy and wooden sarcophagus dated around 1000 BC.

The museum also boasts impressive displays of numismatics, miniature paintings, manuscripts, textiles, weapons and musical instruments of the region. Highlights include a 15th–16th‑century Kalpasutra manuscript, Mughal and Pahari miniatures, rare coins from Indo‑Greek, Kushana, Gupta, Awadh and East India Company periods, and traditional Awadh-era decorative pieces like jadeware and embroidered.